One of Google’s underlying principles is relevance — and that’s clearly an area of opportunity in TV, said Kevin Lee, CEO of Did-It Search Marketing. He said he’s been watching diaper ads for years, but it was only within the last 10 months since his daughter was born that he’s actually had need for them.

“This is why I think Google will get into TV — it is possible through targeting to increase relevance,” he said. “And that means marketers can pay more for that efficiency, and that’s good for consumers, publishers and marketers.”

Sounds good in principle, but traditional TV buyers aren’t convinced Google getting into the game would provide a buying solution for local TV inventory, outside of direct-response and remnant buying. It’s unlikely such a service would bring smaller advertisers to TV — one of Google’s promises as it partners with traditional media sellers — given the production costs of TV creative and the frequency with which ads need to run to be considered effective. “There’s already a natural barrier for smaller advertisers,” said Jim Gaither, director-broadcast, Richards Group.